Six-figure legal settlement for man abused by teacher when he was 12

John Findlay took legal action against Aberlour House School, which has now merged with Gordonstoun.
John Findlay has been awarded a six figures settlement after suffering abuse at school at the age of 12. (John Findlay/Thorntons Solicitors/PA)
Katrine Bussey27 May 2022

A man who was drugged and sexually abused by a teacher more than 30 years ago has won a six-figure settlement from the school where it happened.

John Findlay, 44, took legal action against Aberlour House School, which was was a prep school for Gordonstoun in Moray.

He was just 12 in 1990 when a teacher came to his room and drugged and sexually abused him after he had sought help for an injury.

He remained fully conscious during the attack – which was photographed by the teacher – but he was unable to move or speak.

I hope my case reassures people that there is light at the end at the tunnel and it gives others confidence to speak out

John Findlay

Mr Findlay, who has given up his right to anonymity, said his victory against Aberlour was “an important admission of liability”, which would “act as a warning to institutions tempted to cover up for abusers in their midst”.

He added: “I hope it also shows other victims that it is still possible to stand up and be counted many years later.

“It is well recognised that many children who have suffered abuse hide their experiences until they can no longer conceal their true feelings. No-one should have to suffer in silence.”

Mr Findlay, who has suffered clinically severe post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety since the abuse, spent years pursuing his claim against Aberlour House.

He thanked Thorntons Solicitors for their “unswerving support and determination to bring forward my claim”.

He added: “I hope my case reassures people that there is light at the end at the tunnel and it gives others confidence to speak out.”

Mr Findlay gave evidence to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry last year. (John Findlay/Thorntons Solicitors/PA)

The settlement comes after he told the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry how the teacher gave him medicine before abusing him, and described how he was “horrendously conscious” but unable to stop the attack.

He later told his parents, who contacted Aberlour’s headmaster.

They were told the teacher – who is now dead – would never work at a school again, so they decided not to press charges, although he said his parents later regretted not going to the police.

Mr Findlay became determined to seek justice after learning his abuser went on to teach elsewhere and abused more victims.

Thorntons began pursuing the case against Aberlour House for Mr Findlay in 2018.

Personal injury solicitor Danny McGinn, who led the claim, said: “Mr Findlay has lived with severe psychological injuries because of what happened to him, affecting his life in so many ways.

“His settlement will allow him to get the specialist help that he needs and that will make a huge difference to his life.

“Mr Findlay’s success shows that the passage of time need not be a barrier to justice. Changes to the legal time limit and introduction of the Redress scheme have made it possible for survivors to pursue claims even after many years.

“With these changes, and with the examples of brave people like Mr Findlay, I expect that we will see more survivors coming forward to confront those responsible.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in